1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile communication system and a call control method thereof, and more particularly to an emergency call system and a control method that can notify a third party of an emergency situation using a mobile communication terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a mobile communication terminal user requires help in an emergency situation (e.g., traffic accident, fire, theft or robbery, etc.), they would normally attempt to call someone directly. Once connected, the user must then state the current situation and location to ask for help. However, if the call connection fails, the user may not get the much-needed help in time because they must find another contact phone number and repeat the call process. When faced with a robbery, it is nearly impossible for the user to perform a call connection to ask for help.
Some mobile communication providers provide a service whereby the user sends an emergency rescue request to the mobile communication carrier, and the mobile communication carrier provides a recipient designated by the user with the user's location or an image of the emergency situation of the user, and connects a call between the user and persons receiving the emergency rescue request. In an emergency, it is difficult for the user to connect a call to many persons.
In an alternative service, a positioning system such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver is used to report the current situation or location information of the user in a dangerous situation. With this service, the current location of the user is tracked and reported to a recipient, or moving pictures are taken and sent to the recipient. To receive this service, the user must purchase a special mobile communication terminal with GPS and an image capture function. Since the methods used for providing current location information or still/moving pictures are different between mobile communication carriers, a user has to get all his mobile communication services from the same provider to take advantage of the emergency notification system.
In addition, no attempt has been made to provide for linking an emergency notification message to a government agency such as the police or fire department capable of quickly and effectively dealing with the emergency situation.